Calif. asphalt rubber bill defeated

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Aug. 5, 2014) — A bill that would have extended a provision for the California Department of Transportation to have its total annual paving material tonnage be at least 50-percent rubberized asphalt concrete (RAC) appears to be dead in the California Senate, according to the weekly newsletter CA Tire Bulletin.

Assembly Bill 2658 would have extended the 50-percent RAC requirement from 2015 until 2020. The measure had broad support from the asphalt rubber industry and its associations, as well as environmental groups and at least one labor group, the newsletter said.

However, manufacturers and supporters of “terminal blend” rubberized asphalt—blends that use a fine-mesh rubber powder and generally are mixed in asphalt facilities—opposed the bill.

AB 2658 failed passage in the California Senate Transportation and Housing Committee July 30 on a 4-3 vote.

“Although the bill is technically dead, no bill is really dead until the legislative session is over on Aug. 31,” the newsletter said. “However, given the arcane nature of AB 2658 and the upcoming change in the Senate leadership from Sen. Darrell Steinberg to Sen. Kevin de Leon, we are unlikely to see reconsideration.”

Another tire-related bill, AB 1065, is still alive, the newsletter said. That bill would bring “tire sales only” shops under the jurisdiction of the California Bureau of Automotive Repair and also require that all tire dealers and service providers be capable of installing, activating and calibrating tire pressure monitoring systems.

A hearing on AB 1065 was held Aug. 4 before the California Senate Appropriations Committee.